Dog Star Man Response - |dôg| |stär| |man|

I have seen a lot of Brakhage in my career here at UNCW and I have to say I really love anything he does. I have never been to sure why or really questioned it but when I started thinking about this response I felt that I needed to think a little harder about my reasons. I have never seen Dog Star Man in it's entirety but after watching the prelude I will make sure I do as soon as possible. I know a lot of people in the class seem like Brakhage in small doses but I want to experience his longer work in full. I found myself traveling through the layers and shapes and transitions from hand painted animation to live action film, with all the imperfections beautifully on display for all to see. I was not lost in a bad way. In a longer film (even thought we only watched the prelude) you get a feeling for the flow of the images on screen in a much more complete manner. I really like the transitions from shot to shot. Many were smooth and even matched graphically. I noticed a lot of circles or semicircles cut off from the frame. I also began to notice the abrupt changes such as the section where the emulsion has almost violently been scratched away the film. I think Brakhage put this film together in such a way to let you get lost and then abruptly pull back or stop the eye from being confused or overwhelmed. I think I would be able to more effectively explain why I like Brakhage a little more now. .. I think..